Forget About Academics! Front-End Developer Résumé Teardown

Welcome to the résumé teardown! In this installment, we’re looking at a cover letter and résumé for a real entry-level front-end developer applicant who we’ve nicknamed “En Jinear.”

Micah Jaffe, the CTO of FairLoan Financial, a seed stage startup fixing financial services starting with small consumer lending, will be offering his critique of En Jinear’s application. Micah primarily reviews applications for software development positions. To read more about Micah and what he’s looking for in web developers, visit our interview with him.

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Today’s lesson is: forget about academics! People reviewing your résumé are much more interested in seeing links to your work or examples of your projects, especially for developer positions.

One additional note about salary. Micah said that you shouldn’t mention salary requirements in a cover letter. As a general rule, you don’t want to bring up the topic of salary until after you’ve been offered a job, but if the employer specifically asks you to state your salary requirements in your cover letter, go ahead and do it. It’s generally a good idea to provide a range rather than a single number.

Homework time! Take a look at your résumé. Are there any areas that can be improved by adding what Micah calls “success metrics”? For example, instead of saying you managed a Facebook account, can you say how many fans you earned or mention the specifics of a campaign you initiated?

Check out our e-book on front-end development!

If you're interested in learning more about front-end development, be sure to check out our e-book, "Your Guide to Getting Into Front-End Development." It's packed with useful information on how to get a job as a front-end developer, what hiring managers are looking for when they review your résumé and cover letter, and what it's like to work in this fast-paced and creative field.
Find it here.